Parentage: The Guzmania variety ‘DURAPRI’ is a seedling selection which resulted from a controlled pollination breeding program. In July of 2007, the inventor performed the controlled cross-pollination of Guzmania lingulata ‘Fortuna’ (not patented), the seed parent, and an unnamed dwarfed seedling progeny of Guzmania lingulata ‘El Cope’ (not patented), the pollen parent, at a commercial greenhouse in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Those skilled in the art recognize that Guzmania seed can be difficult to germinate. Therefore, in November of 2007, the seed that resulted from the cross of July 2007 in Alajuela, Costa Rica were shipped by the inventor to a tissue culture laboratory in Evergem, Belgium for in vitro seed germination in order to increase the germination rate. At the direction of the inventor, the resulting seedlings were grown for 6 months to evaluate plant vigor and then shipped back to Alajuela, Costa Rica for further evaluation by the inventor. In November of 2008, the inventor selected one seedling for commercial production due to its unique growth habit and flower characteristics. This new and distinctive cultivar was given the name ‘DURAPRI’.
Asexual Reproduction: ‘DURAPRI’ was first asexually propagated by meristematic tissue culture in January of 2014 at a commercial laboratory in Evergem, Belgium and has since been asexually propagated through 3 additional generations. Through subsequent generations, the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.